ARTS/ARTIFACTS

ARTS/ARTIFACTS; A Short Course on Jewelry and the Human Body

By RITA REIF

Published: July 30, 1995

IMAGINE A WALK-IN JEWEL BOX with all the earrings neatly arranged in pairs, the bracelets sorted, the tiaras and hatpins placed together, the buckles lined up in rows and the necklaces spread out to reveal all their glitter. Such exquisite orderliness would be the envy of most women. Yet it can be found in "Body Language: Jewelry and Accessories," an exhibition at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum through Aug. 20.

The 200 pieces from the museum's collection range from a beaded Egyptian necklace made in 1,000 B.C. to an epaulet of gold wire cubes made in the Netherlands in the 1990's. They offer a short course on what these pieces have meant to people of varied cultures and why jewelry is worn on different parts of the body.

"Why do we wear brooches and medals close to the heart?" asked Deborah Sampson Shinn, the museum's curator of decorative arts and industrial design, who organized the show. "We feel passionately about some pieces of jewelry and sentimental about others, including religious things and military things."

An imperial Russian medal of the 19th century, emblazoned with a Maltese cross and double-headed eagles, and a glass-beaded American flag of the 1940's are colorful expressions of patriotism. An elaborate Victorian brooch, encrusted with diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and rubies, depicts lovers embracing in a boat; it speaks eloquently of romance. And a tiny red plastic pin of a ruby slipper symbolizes both Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz" and the 1969 Stonewall riot in Greenwich Village, an event sparked by the funeral of Judy Garland; the pin, made last year by Jonathan Boorstein, offers a double dose of nostalgia.

What people wear on their fingers, like wedding and engagement rings, convey their status in society. Other items, like bracelets, represent jewelry as protective gear: the leather bands worn by ancient warriors and the metal cuffs of suits of armor were sometimes decorated with jewels. Two bracelets on display represent quite different stylistic adaptations of protective wristbands: a French gold-and-amethyst cuff from the 1860's has impressive neo-classical detailing, and a steel spiral made in the Netherlands in the 1970's has a minimal industrial look.

Jewelry and hair have always had a dual relationship: jewelry is worn in the hair, and hair is worn as jewelry; it is woven into bracelets and watch chains or tucked inside lockets. Many pieces worn on the hair -- crowns, combs, hatpins and feathers -- hark back to ancient adornments that emphasized hair as a sign of strength and sensuality. Among the memorable combs on view is a tortoise-shell one from the 19th century, decorated with carved vines and scrolled leaves. A stunning hair ornament of bent gold prongs, made in the 1950's by Irena Brynner, is more decorative than a comb though less imposing than a crown.

BELTS HAVE SYMBOLIZED many things -- strength to the ancient Egyptians, cowboys and bikers; sexual power to the Greeks and marital fidelity to medieval Christians, some of whom supposedly wore chastity belts. Even today, belts are used as wedding gifts in parts of Africa. One beaded belt from Kenya is edged in coins to indicate the wealth of the wearer, who would have been a circumcised Kamba girl or a young married woman.

"Most early peoples had large belts as part of their costumes," Ms. Shinn said. "But in our society, intellectual power may advance us more than physical power, so the belt doesn't always receive the same amount of attention."

Neckwear, on the other hand, has been a favorite with the fashion conscious throughout history. While most of the ornaments shown are purely decorative, others reflect the neck's function linking the head and the heart, thinking and feeling. Some show the wearer's ethnic, political or spiritual interests. A Navajo silver necklace combines native motifs of squash blossoms with a Roman Catholic medal, a reminder of the Spanish conquest.

The show also includes torques, a form associated with the ancient Celts. One on view was made of aluminum in the 1970's; there is also a silver band on which dangles a totem of ceramic and glass beads. An opulent necklace of gilded silver, pearls and exotic stones is said to possess healing powers. Tony Duquette, an American, who designed the piece, says it is intended to bring about a spiritual awakening in the wearer.

Fashion is indeed fickle. These days, people are wearing less jewelry, and what they do wear tends to be more understated than that favored during the gaudier 80's. "That's what the 1990's are about," Ms. Shinn said. "Getting away from hyperconsumerism and into the meanings of things. A lot of today's art jewelry has strong fetishistic qualities. So we may be returning to simpler jewelry of greater power."